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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26555893">would you have me?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/milfbyers/pseuds/milfbyers'>milfbyers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:55:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>837</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26555893</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/milfbyers/pseuds/milfbyers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>joyce meets karen on the porch of a party for the first time since their break up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joyce Byers/Karen Wheeler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>would you have me?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the air bit at karen’s ankles as she stood on the porch outside. october weather was sneaking into late september and she wished she had brought a sweater to wrap around her shoulders. karen was bringing the cup to her mouth to take a sip when she heard the back door creak open behind her.</p><p>‘i’m not really in the mood-’ but when she turned, karen met the eyes of joyce horowitz instead of whatever football player was trying to get a hand up her skirt that week. ‘oh’ karen’s sentence was lost on the tip of her tongue. ‘not in the mood to see me either?’ joyce tried with a weak, teasing smile. karen met her offer with a shrug. ‘i won’t make you go back inside, joyce, you can stay out here if you want.’ </p><p>	karen wasn’t looking at joyce but she just knew joyce was opening and closing her mouth in frustration trying to pull out a witty peace offering but when she heard the flick of joyce’s lighter, she knew joyce gave up. ‘if you’re going to smoke, at least offer to share with me’ karen mumbled, abandoning her cup on the ledge of the railing in exchange for the extended cigarette. she inhaled and blew the smoke out before returning it back to joyce. </p><p>	‘so how’s lonnie-’ she started but was cut off with ‘i’m sorry, karen’. she sucked in a harsh breath. karen found joyce’s eyes for the first time that night and was met with pools of guilt and regret. the soft smile karen saved just for joyce was making an eager appearance before she could stop it. ‘you don’t need to apologize, joyce. it’s okay’ her voice was soft, genuine. no sharp edges or venom lingering in her words. joyce raised an eyebrow. worry spread across her features before karen had a chance to open her mouth in an attempt to offer reassurance. ‘it’s… okay?’</p><p>karen bit back a laugh, ‘yes, horowitz. it’s really okay.’ karen’s chest ached at the words, her heart torn in two. she was letting joyce go in the only way she knew how. she was going to keep pretending, to keep shapeshifting and transforming into the person joyce wanted her to be. karen wanted- she needed to have joyce. she would change into anything joyce horowitz wanted her to be in exchange for a single glance her way. </p><p>	joyce reached in front of karen for the forgotten cup still settled on the ledge. she took a long sip before returning it to it’s spot. she swallowed, ‘i- uh, if it helps, i don’t- i don’t really love him.’ the confession pooled on the wood beneath their feet and spilled across their shoes staining them in invisible green envy that karen knew she could never wash away. ‘but you fall asleep next to him every night, right? like you used to with me?’ karen’s voice was weak, it cracked under the emotion that lined every syllable. </p><p>	desperate for a distraction from her admission of jealousy, it was karen’s turn to reach in front of joyce for her cigarettes. her hands grasped at the packaging as she pulled the lighter out in the same pinch of forefinger and thumb as she grabbed the cigarette with. joyce watched her with such fondness that it made karen’s stomach turn. ‘i don’t kiss him like i used to with you.’ her hands found karen’s empty one and she tangled their fingers together. </p><p>‘i don’t roll over in the middle of the night to admire him as he sleeps. he doesn’t wake me up with coffee that he made just for me-’ karen held up a hand and cleared the sob from her throat as she coughed. ‘stop, joyce-’ but she ignored karen’s plea. ‘and the sex isn’t anywhere near as good.’</p><p>karen let out a sharp laugh through her nose, ‘of course it isn’t joyce, you’re sleeping with a man.’ joyce’s laugh joined karen’s when she threw her head back to let the joy rise out of her chest. ‘i guess you’re right but that’s not the point’ her eyes found karen’s and this time they shone with honesty, ‘the point is that he isn’t you.’ </p><p>another spill and stain across their clothes. this time it was red, burning love across the white of karen’s top. she stomped out the cigarette into the floorboard before lifting her hand to cradle joyce’s cheek. ‘you can always come back, the door isn’t locked just yet.’ she whispered into the night air. her secret was lurking in the dark just outside the perimeter of the porch light all night but now it was shining. </p><p>‘maybe one day’ joyce said, the honesty from before was just as fierce in her gaze. she stood on her tiptoes to press her mouth against karen’s. the kiss was quick but it was eager and desperate and it made goosebumps rise across both of their arms. ‘maybe one day’ karen repeated in a whisper against joyce’s mouth.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! it was very 'betty' from folklore of me to write this and title it with a lyric from the song. and because i feel such a need to dedicate every piece of work i write, this one is for annie. thanks for answering my twitter dm about joyren almost four months ago. it's so funny how things work out (if i could put the blushing heart emoji here, i would). &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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